Judi Dench is just like us: She uses TikTok to break up the monotony of coronavirus quarantine
- Judi Dench, the 85-year-old British actress, has recently appeared in TikTok videos thanks to her grandson, Sam Williams.
- In a recent interview, Dench told the UK's Channel 4 News that taking part in sketches and dances on her grandson's TikTok has "saved [her] life" during the pandemic lockdown.
- "Everyday is so uncharted. You wake up and you wonder what day it is, and you wonder what date it is, and sometimes what month," Dench told Channel 4. "And then you think, 'What do I do today?'"
TikTok has become a dire saving grace for billions of people locking down during the pandemic, including 85-year-old actress Judi Dench.
Dench started appearing in TikTok skits and dances in March on her grandson Sam Williams' account. In a recent TV interview, the British actress credited TikTok with giving her a way to break up the monotony of the months inside on lockdown during the pandemic.
"Well, it saved my life," Dench told UK's Channel 4 News. "Everyday is so uncharted. You wake up and you wonder what day it is, and you wonder what date it is, and sometimes what month. And then you think, 'What do I do today?' ... I planned to learn every Shakespeare sonnet. Well, I've got to about 9, and there are 154."
Dench's selective cameo appearances on her grandson's TikTok videos have generated millions of views. In an interview in April, Williams told Insider about the TikTok audience's love of his famous grandma trying out viral TikTok dances and ruining his jokes' punch lines.
It's not surprising TikTok has even reached Dame Judi Dench. TikTok generated 315 million installs in the first three months of 2020 — just as millions went into lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic — and set a record for the most downloads an app has ever recorded in a single quarter. As many are turning en masse to TikTok for entertainment and information, the app reached 2 billion all-time downloads in late May.
You can watch Dench's full interview with Channel 4 News: